Page 47 of What Fury Brings
“Don’t look back,” Olerra cautioned.
Andrastus closed his eyes, blessedly listening. Forcing himself to breathe deeply. “How can you all just stand by? He did nothing but lose.”
“He embarrassed her.”
“And that means he should suffer her torments?”
“No, but he did this to himself. Athon was a soldier under my protection. He chose to leave and side with Glen. Against me. There is nothing I can do for him, and I wouldn’t even if I could. He betrayed me. Hesided with her after everything I’ve done for him. Glen got her claws into him in only two weeks. And now that she knows you hate it when she disciplines her men, she will do it around you whenever she can.”
“So it’s my fault that men are to be punished?”
“No. It is only she who is at fault. What you can do is help me gain the throne so we can put a stop to her.”
Andrastus nodded once.
“Now, I need you to smile and put on a show for some courtiers,” she said.
Ydra escorted him to a small crowd that had gathered, all waiting to chat with Olerra’s chosen. Olerra risked turning around, but Glenaerys and Athon were already gone. Olerra took a steadying breath. She needed a moment to get ahold of herself. She couldn’t recall being so afraid for another person as when Glen had turned her full attention on Andrastus. They had to be more careful.
After a few deep breaths, Olerra turned back around.
Andrastus was composed, though he certainly didn’t look pleased by his current predicament.
“You fight with such skill, Prince Andrastus,” Countess Ingras preened. “You and the princess are a match made by the gods.”
Daneryn, who sat beside his mother, shot her the most affronted look. As though his own mother had betrayed him with the compliment.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Andrastus said uncertainly.
“What did she say to aid you in victory during the respite?” a duchess wanted to know.
Olerra caught the prince’s gaze, raising one brow.
“She told me she believed in me.”
“Ah,” the duchess said. “The princess knows how to motivate a man. She will likewise prove worthy in ruling our people.”
It was a bold statement, but Olerra took the compliment. The duchessof Wenda had professed her loyalties long ago and voiced them loudly whenever possible. If only it would sway more.
There were too many who preferred Glenaerys’s “firm hand” over men to Olerra’s battle prowess.
Andrastus shot Olerra a look that suggested he very much wanted to leave the amphitheater, but she ignored it. All the attention was just what they needed. Andrastus was doing his job without even realizing it. To the nobility, his discomfort must have come off as modesty, for they praised his humility. He handled the compliments just as poorly as he did the attention. The nobility found it adorable, but Olerra was bewildered. Did he not receive attention and compliments back home? He was a prince. Surely his tutors and favor-climbing nobility did what they could to endear him to them, even as a second son. He was handsome. Women must have heaped praise upon him.
When Olerra earned his trust, they would talk about it. She wanted to understand him. She wanted to know more about his life back home. Until then, he deserved a reward. Today’s victory over her cousin felt sweeter than any chocolate, and Olerra would remove his chains as a thank-you.
She let him do whatever he wished for the rest of the day. Sanos bathed. He wasn’t alone, but the eunuchs didn’t touch him, allowing him to wash the oil and stink from the other man away on his own. He was permitted to walk through the hallways of the palace with an escort. He familiarized himself with the front door, the quickest path to it from her rooms.
He learned where the stables were so he might steal a horse. He observed the guard changes at high-traffic areas—all under the guise of familiarizing himself with his new home.
As if. The treatment of Athon by Glenaerys was only further proof that he needed to leave this place. These women were all barbaric. His very life was on the line.
Olerra left him alone until the evening, when she bid him good night. There was no outrageous night ritual this time. No more strange Amarran customs for her to spring upon him.
He heard the lock slide into place after she shut the door separating his room from hers. His hands and feet were still free of shackles, a reward for winning the fight, and he intended to use the opportunity to flee.
His first order of business was removing the blasted armband. He tossed it aside, heard it land on some thick carpet. Then he climbed into bed, though he had no intention of staying there. Sanos wanted to keep up appearances in case she thought to check on him within the next couple of hours. But as he lay there, staring up at the ceiling, the door didn’t creak open once. The hours passed painfully, slowly, and when he was sure she must be asleep and the palace must all be resting for the night save the guard, he rolled from his mattress silently.
She may have locked the door between the two of them, but there was another door in the room, and he went to it, ensuring his steps were silent. It was blessedly unlocked, and as he eased it open, he was surprised to find another bedroom. It was identical to his, save a bit smaller. No one resided within.
